Rescuing a broken down mining excavator

by Nick Drew | Mon 10 Oct 2016

Rescuing a broken down mining excavator

As challenges go recovering a broken down O&K RH 120-E has to rank fairly high on the scale of tough challenges.

But this is exactly the task that faced well-known heavy haulage specialists Boom Logistics recently, who were contracted to move the 250 tonne monster from a working area of the Calenturitas de Prodeco Mine in Northern Colombia, to a repair workshop some 22 kilometres away. pic01-20160329-164912

The RH 120-E is powered by 2 x Cat C18 engines which offer a gross power output of 1568hp (1169.3kw) but they had failed on this machine, leaving the giant excavator stricken on top of a pile of earth. pic02-img-4815

The repair work simply could not be done out on site, so the mining company turned to Boom Logistics to see what could be done to shift the machine. The solution was to deploy a 12-axle THP/SL heavy-duty combination from the house of Goldhofer which would fulfil the requirements for handling the complicated loading and unloading processes smoothly and safely. pic03-img-4837

Extensive preparations were needed for loading the axle lines because of the difference in height between the mining excavator and the transport system. As a first step, the earth had to be extracted from under the excavator – with the greatest possible care – to create enough space for the heavy-duty module to be reversed into place ready to take the load. When enough material had been removed, the excavator was left standing with just the track frame sitting on the earth, while the rest of the pile had all but disappeared. pic04-img-4879

The next step was to position the THP/SL underneath the excavator and use the hydraulic suspension stroke to take the load. With the excavator safely loaded, the remaining earth was removed on either side so that the heavy-duty module was left standing free. A dump truck and a pusher were then used to maneuvere the transporter with its load across the uneven ground to the road, where two tractors were waiting to tow the mining excavator to the Calenturitas de Prodeco repair shop. pic05-img-4855

There it was unloaded the following day and subsequently repaired. What puzzles me about this is why the machine has no tracks, sprockets or idlers on or had they been removed to make loading the dead machine easier?

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